Google backs $15B Anthropic data center in Texas

Google is reportedly backing a proposed $15 billion financing package for an Anthropic-linked data center in Texas, extending an AI infrastructure boom that has also lifted Bitcoin miners expanding into high-performance computing.

Google and Anthropic financing terms

A group of banks led by Morgan Stanley is discussing a financing package for Nexus Data Centers’ planned campus in Hubbard, Texas, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited by Reuters.

The proposed package includes a $14 billion bridge loan and a revolving credit facility. The report did not disclose the size of the revolving facility or identify the other lenders involved in the talks.

Google has reportedly agreed to guarantee billions of dollars in lease and power-payment obligations if Anthropic defaults. Its backing would apply to four data-center leases signed by the AI developer and related agreements to purchase electricity from an on-site power plant.

The guarantees remain limited to the minimum amount lenders require to complete the financing, according to the report. In exchange, Google is expected to receive an equity stake of around 20% in the combined data-center and power project.

Neither Nexus nor the banks have announced a completed transaction.

Texas campus includes a 1.6 GW power plant

Nexus plans to pair the data-center campus with a natural-gas-fired power plant capable of producing 1.6 GW of electricity. The on-site facility would allow the project to secure a large power supply without relying entirely on additional capacity from the Texas grid.

Access to electricity has become one of the main constraints on new US data centers. AI facilities require large and continuous power supplies, while new transmission lines, generation assets and grid connections can take years to approve and construct.

The Nexus structure resembles other AI projects using financially stronger technology companies to support the obligations of private AI developers. Google’s guarantee would improve the project’s credit profile and could help Nexus obtain financing on better terms than Anthropic could secure independently.

Anthropic plans to use tensor processing units co-designed by Google and Broadcom at the site. The chips would be financed separately under a vendor agreement between Anthropic and Broadcom, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Google’s participation would therefore cover several parts of the project: chips, credit guarantees and an expected equity position. The arrangement also gives Google a larger role in Anthropic’s infrastructure even as the AI developer buys processors from competing suppliers.

Bitcoin miners secure similar AI agreements

Nexus is competing for capital and AI tenants during a month marked by several multibillion-dollar agreements involving Bitcoin mining companies.

TeraWulf signed a 20-year lease with Anthropic on July 6 for its Justified Data campus in Hawesville, Kentucky. The contract covers about 401 MW of critical IT capacity and is expected to generate approximately $19 billion in revenue over its initial term.

CleanSpark followed with a $6.6 billion lease for its Sandersville campus in Georgia. The 20-year agreement covers 175 MW and could rise to $11.6 billion if the unidentified technology customer exercises its extension options.

Hut 8 signed a second 352 MW lease at its Beacon Point campus in Texas on July 20. The $9.8 billion contract brought the property’s total base-term lease value to $19.6 billion. Renewal options could increase the figure to $50.2 billion.

IREN announced $2.8 billion in multi-year AI cloud contracts on the same day. It raised its year-end annualized AI cloud revenue target above $4 billion, with about 85% of the target under contract.

Core Scientific then signed an agreement giving AMD access to up to 2.5 GW of data-center capacity. The initial phase will provide 500 MW of AI-ready infrastructure in 2027, although the companies did not disclose the contract’s value.

These companies accumulated power agreements and industrial sites for Bitcoin mining before AI demand raised the potential value of those assets. Their existing grid access can shorten development timelines, although AI facilities require more advanced cooling, networking and backup systems than mining operations.

AI-focused mining stocks rally

Shares of several miners with AI infrastructure exposure rose sharply on July 30, although the broader rally cannot be attributed solely to the Nexus report.

IREN closed approximately 30.7% higher at $38.26, while Hut 8 advanced 22.7% to $108.27. CleanSpark rose 21.1%, Core Scientific added 20.4% and TeraWulf gained 18.1%.

The moves extended an earlier market response to July’s AI contracts. Hut 8 had risen as much as 17% when it announced its second Beacon Point lease, while IREN climbed as much as 19% following its cloud-contract update.

Alphabet shares moved in the opposite direction Thursday, falling about 0.9% to $333.66. The decline came as investors continued assessing the cost of Google’s AI infrastructure expansion rather than signaling a clear response to the uncompleted Nexus financing.

What comes next for the Nexus project

The immediate catalyst will be whether Morgan Stanley and the other banks finalize the $15 billion package and disclose its maturity, interest costs and guarantee structure.

Confirmation of Google’s expected 20% stake would also clarify how much direct exposure the company is taking to Anthropic’s infrastructure obligations. Until financing closes, the loan, guarantees and equity arrangement remain proposed terms reported by people familiar with the discussions.

For US-listed miners, completion would provide another valuation benchmark for large power-backed AI campuses. It would also add a conventional data-center developer to the competition for the same tenants, lenders, chips and power supplies now driving miners’ expansion beyond Bitcoin.